Free Digital Issue

The Hardest Pitch in Yosemite Goes Down!

According to Tommy Caldwell, Yosemite's hardest pitch of free-climbing has now been established ... smack dab in the middle of the Dawn Wall!

"I regret to inform anyone looking to climb the hardest pitch in Yosemite that now they have to get to the absolute middle of El Cap to make it happen," posted Caldwell via Facebook. "PITCH 15 WENT DOWN!!!"

Caldwell credits winter conditions for his send, and accompanied his post with a picture of a snow-filled Yosemite Valley, writing: "It's looking like winter conditions are the way forward."

Pro Climbers International also shared the news on Facebook, posting: "Breaking News: Tommy Caldwell just sent Pitch 15, the second "traverse pitch" on the Dawn Wall. At 5.14d, it's the hardest pitch in Yosemite and represents a huge step toward an eventual send of the entire route."

According to one of Kevin Jorgeson's Facebook posts from October, Pitch 15 contains the infamous eight-foot sideways dyno. However, the 15th pitch Caldwell redpointed actually ends just below the sideways dyno, which is now part of Pitch 16.

Regardless, progress has continued on what will certainly be the hardest big-wall free climb in the world.